And so we finally get to the jumping itself and how the class was won and lost....................
The course consisted of 15 jumping efforts with 12 numbered fences and Vezzani's track was built to maximum height and spread and was going to require stamina and carefulness from the horses competing today - the track was without doubt one of the best, I believe, in this seasons league as it was flowing and jumpable but was going to test the rider and horse at the level you would expect from a Super League class - these are, after all, the best horses in the world. I, personally, believe that many of the courses this season have been "an unreasonable ask" of the horse and have not encouraged horses but have rather bordered on frightening quality horses.
Vezzani's course showed a great understanding of the horse and the tough job we ask him to do when he faces obstacles which are high or wide or both and add to that the "spook factor" and it is a tough job we ask the horse and rider to do - this course asked tough questions to which there were answers!
The first line rider for Belgium was the very experienced Phillippe Lejeune riding Kashmir van Schuttershoff and they were going super well having got through the bogey combination and double of ditches and all was on track until fence 11, the tall and wide wagon well oxer tumbled leaving them with four faults. On his second round Phillipe again finished with 4 faults, this time dropping fence 10 which was a nasty gate fence with a very light rail on top on flat cups which was just 6 strides on a curve from the very wide open water which sat at fence 9. The other difficulty with fence 10 was that it was jumping straight into a sea of thousands of faces in the stands at the far end of the arena.
The USA were the next team to start and this was the only all girl team here today and somehow you got the feeling that the crowd and the commentators were hoping the "girls" were going to go well today. Molly Ashe led for the USA with Lutopia and their first round saw fences 10 and 12 tumbling but they certainly improved on that in round two when they came through the finish flags with clear jumping and clear time.
Above left we see Molly Ashe and Lutopia over the biggest fence on the course - te wagon wheel oxer at number 11 and the horse is making sure he isn't going to touch a rail.
Above right - Laurent Goffinet and Flipper d'Elle both looking airborn over the inviting Irish Harp rising oxer which is fence one.
Dermott Lennon commented that having a rising oxer as fence one is not uncommon and that it is "nice to start with a triple bar as it can help to loosen the horse up - so long as he makes the back bar!"
The fourth country out were the underdogs, Italy and no doubt the Italian Course Designer had his fingers and toes crossed that all would go well for his countrymen bu their opening rider Andrea Bracci came through the finish flags with 16 faults in the first round and was Italy's drop score - but this was a much improved situation in round two when they returned with just four penalties when they dropped the third part of fence 7 which was a square oxer coming two strides after the very tall vertical which was part b.
The roar which greeted Cian O'Connor when he came into the arena as 1st rider for Ireland was nearly deafening but the roars hushed as soon as he came through the start flags on Irish Independent Annabella but this first round was not to be theirs when their score of 8 faults became the drop score for Ireland after a foot in the water and the penultimate fence, number 11, tumbled. They made amends though in round two when they came back from their journey with no jumping and no time penalties to clock up a clear round for Ireland.
Above left - Bracci for Italy looking good at the first fence but unfortunately things fell apart in round one after this with a brighter round two, no doubt, improving their humour.
Above right - Cian O'COnnor for Ireland and Irish Independent Annabella giving the final oxer out of the treble combination which was fence 7c enough air to fly a low flying plane underneath them!
Great Britain were next to go and Robert Smith, whose next stop is Athens for the Olympic Games went out with the handsome stallion Marius Claudius but their first round was not one you would be "writing home to dad" about and they found themselves in the unusual position of being the British drop score in round one after pulling four fences down fro their cups - but they more than made up for it in round two when they came home clear of any penalties.
Germany's Alois Pollman-Schweckhorst and Diamonds Daylight were first out for their country and this horse looked to be jumping very loosely and freely - noticeably different to many of the others! Even though they had fence five down in round one to finish with four faults and had a couple in round two to finish with 8 faults, there was something unusually pleasing to watch with this horse when he jumped. It caused me to make some enquiries later on and I discovered that he is using a new type of girth which allows the horse to expand easier in the chest area and this in turn makes it easier for the horse to jump - jumpingaround.com will be bringing you more on this in the coming weeks - and it is definitely worth reading about after we have trialled this new product on the market.
Last country to start in this class was The Netherlands and their frontline rider wasPeter Geerink and Norit Larino they too found themselves to be the drop score when they came home with 12 faults but in round two they found improvement when they had the nasty shock of dropping fence 1 and then went on clear from there finishing with four faults in round two.
Above right - Alois Pollman-Schweckhorst and Diamonds Daylight over the widest and tallest fence on the course and looking super.
Right - Peter Geerink and Norit Larino over fence 8 which stayed in place for this combination in both rounds.
And so we moved on to the second riders for each nation and Marc van Dijk (pictured below left)jumped a super clear first round on Verelst Roxanne and in round two they just lowered 4a which was the first part of the airy white rails over the ditches - a nasty looking fence - finishing with four faults in round two.
